The emphasis to develop alternate energy sources has particularly placed substitutes or extenders to gasoline on the high priority list. Of special interest is the use of ethanol in gasoline.
The cost of ethanol has been higher than the price of the gasoline to which it is added. This results in an additional increase in the price of the ethanol-gasoline blend. One such blend is commonly referred to as Gasohol. The sources from which ethanol can be derived by way of fermentation include grains, biomass, etc. A major portion of the cost of ethanol is related to distillation as a means of stripping the alcohol from the fermentation products. Distillation has one very serious limitation, and that is the large quantity of energy which must be consumed to effect the distillation. This large quantity of energy translates to higher costs for the distilled ethanol.
Advantages directly derived by a method for separation of ethanol by a non-distillation method would be the additional savings in energy and lower production costs in making ethanol more readily available as a diluent for gasoline. Both of the advantages would enhance the acceptance of a non-distillation method to replace currently employed methods of separation of ethanol by distillation. The cost advantage for separation should translate to a price advantage at the pump for Gasohol or ethanol-alcohol blend which has been proven by performance but not in its acceptance by the consumer because of the higher price for an alcohol-gasoline blend over an all gasoline fuel at today's prevailing prices.
An object of this invention is to provide a method for separation of ethanol from the fermentation products derived from the various possible sources, such as, grains, biomass, etc.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method for separation of ethanol from its fermentation products wherein countercurrent extraction procedures are employed and the materials employed to separate the ethanol are removed and recycled.